Open Wardrobes

With the flurry of Fringe there were a handful of shows I didn't get around to reviewing, so here's a brief recap:

Agamemnon: A valiant effort at updating the Greek tragedy, but unfortunately the script doesn't quite come through and the sock puppets are woefully underused. 3 out of 5 stars

Tragedy of You: Joseph Scrimshaw's latest effort is delightful, weaving improv about a random audience member into a 5-act Shakespearean tragedy, replete with humor and Shakespeare references. 5 out of 5 stars.

Every Pastie* Tells A Story: This is the first time I've caught one of Nancy Donoval's shows, and I'm glad I didn't miss this one. Nancy is a wonderful storyteller and weaves a delightful tale of college theater in Wisconsin and her encounter with a New York director. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Curse of Yig: Tim Uren returns to Lovecraft with this creepy snake tale. Time Uren's performance is spot on, though Amy Schweickhardt's performance for me fell flat. The script also suffered at times from being too literal an adaptation, but all in all a fun story. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Two Bowls of Cereal and some Bacon: First-time Fringe producer Mahmoud Hakima brings a touching tale of childhood friendship contrasted with family turmoil. Both genuine and tragic, if this production is any indication Mahmoud will soon become a Fringe staple. Truly wonderful. 5 out of 5 stars.

I only made it to one show yesterday, my one day off from rehearsals, performances, and volunteering. Kelly and I decided to catch Noah Bremer's latest creation Untitled Duet with Houseplant.

This piece was nothing short of joyful. From the moment Noah first zoomed by on a bicycle I was hooked. He led us on what was essentially an exploration of play, from opening packages to seeking advice from Tom Jones to a dance with a houseplant. Every moment was creative and had the feeling of utter spontaneity. My only regret was that it ended far too soon - even an hour was not enough time to watch this talented artist. Definitely a must-see with 5 out of 5 stars.

After a couple days break for volunteered for the Fringe at Mixed Blood, I was back on stage with an 8:30 PM performance last night (which was nearly full!!). But first I caught the 5:30 PM showing of The Comedy Hypnosis Show put on my Katie Knutson, another of those folks I met during all of the previews. 5:30 on a Wednesday is a tough time for any show and it showed in the turnout, but Katie still had a good crowd of 20 or so of us.

This show exemplifies what I love about the Fringe: you can find anything there, even comedy hypnosis! Because we were a little smaller of a group, Katie invited us all onto stage to participate. I don't easily give up control, so while I felt very relaxed I'm not sure I ever truly entered hypnosis, but there were many people more open to it than I and I enjoyed watching their responses. Katie clearly knows her stuff when it comes to hypnosis, and made the experience both fun and safe for everyone. Watching the response of those in the hypnotic state was hilarious! Just one show left at this point (10 PM on Saturday), but this is definitely a show worth catching. 4 out of 5 stars

Catching up from Sunday... After my own show on Sunday evening I also caught a 10 PM performance of Walking Shadow's Fringe offering, Squawk. I am a sucker for anything with penguins, so when I heard they were doing a show with a three-foot penguin puppet I was sold.

What do you get when you cross the most awesome penguin puppet with the army? Squawk, the latest of a string of Fringe hits from Walking Shadow. The penguin of course steals the show almost from the get go, expertly puppeteered by John Heimbuch and David Pisa, but it didn't take me long to forget to think of it as a puppet at all. The human side of the cast was also excellent and before long I was engrossed in the story and relationships of these army officers, penguin included (Lt. Falkland). I loved the show, and while it's worth seeing for the puppet if nothing else, its charms by no means end there. 5 out of 5 stars.

I ran into Brian several times during the course of Fringe previews and knew at once that The Pizpor Show was a show I wanted to see. I caught his 4 PM performance yesterday before heading off to prep for my 7 PM show.

Are you looking for a great show? Then you're in the wrong place 'cause this one is Pizpor. Actually, that's not true, this show is wonderful! Pizpor's delightful and self-effacing banter belies the true skill behind his magic act. You'll see some classics like the rope trick and the cup and balls, plus a twist on the old "saw a person in half" trick (and this version is much funnier). We were all rolling in the aisles at this show, and the audience though small was incredibly responsive. Like myself they were all roped in from the first moment. Pizpor knows how to show the audience a good time and his sparkling performance deserves far larger audiences than it received on Sunday afternoon. A must see - 5 out of 5 stars.

Wrapping up from Saturday: After performing my own show back-to-back, I managed to make it over to Illusion Theater just in time for their 10 PM performance of The Flickering Wall, one of this year's other bring-your-own-venue (BYOV) productions.

This was one of the most unique productions I've ever seen, one which truly made the most of its site-specific nature. The show takes you through all of the back corners of the Illusion Theater (which is an amazing space) as a variety of different story threads converge around you culminating in... well I don't want to give away the ending of this truly remarkable show. In fact it's one of those shows I'd like to see a second time, as I'm sure I didn't catch everything the first time around. Definitely a must-see. 5 out of 5 stars

My final show of the afternoon yesterday (before prepping for my own two-performance marathon) was Allegra Lingo's new one-woman show Crescendo. I'd heard of Allegra from past Fringes, but had never made it to one of her shows before, an oversight I decided to correct especially after meeting her several times in the course of all the Fringe previews. She's one of those down-to-earth, personable individuals who is a pleasure to speak with, and just so happens to be an incredible artist to boot.

I was captured from the very beginning, as we sat in darkness listening to Allegra call the show into existence in a moment of creation, Aaron Copeland's music in the background. She weaves together two main threads: a retelling of the Greek myth of Icarus and her own process as an artist struggling with the act of creation. As a writer/actor myself I can definitely relate to the internal struggle and moments of self-doubt that accompany the process of putting words down on the page, let alone before an audience. The retelling of Icarus too was beautiful. It stayed true to the essence of the myth while not being bound by it, giving a glimpse of what may have happened next. The parallel between Icarus' flight too close to the sun and the artist's act of creation was nicely drawn. And like any good soundtrack, the music of Copeland added to the mood without distracting from the performance. Lastly, the stories about James the dog were delightful. All in all an amazing piece and one well worth catching. I am only sorry that it took me so many Fringes to finally see this talented performer in action. 5 out of 5 stars

My second show on Saturday, sticking around the U of MN's Rarig Center was The Tenth Muse, written and performed by out-of-towner Elisa Korenne. I met Elisa recently at one of the library showcases and enjoyed the show she performed there, so I wanted to be sure and catch the full show.

The focus of the show is songs about oddballs in US history, from a lightbulb eater to cheerleading nuns. I loved the songs, nicely written and well-performed, and the people they were based on were definitely interesting. Elisa has a very nice stage presence and is clearly in her element when singing and playing. The framework of the tenth muse didn't work for me as much, as I would have preferred more background on the historical characters. (A more cabaret-type format would probably work better.) The people ARE very interesting and the song format only provides so much room to talk about them. Still, all in all I very much enjoyed the performance. With the sing-a-long element this is a great show for families. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Now that the Fringe has started and I've been able to see a few shows, it's time to start reviewing them as well. First up yesterday was A Cynic Tells Love Stories written and performed by Katherine Glover, presented at the Rarig Center:

Katherine weaves a touching tale of her own experiences and relationships. More than simply a series of monologues, the piece flowed nicely. The writing was excellent, as was the performance itself, both poignant and humorous. My favorite part was the final segment, a tragic story told so genuinely. Kudos to Katherine was being able to present such personal stories in such an engaging way. 4 out of 5 stars.

The opening night of Schrödinger's Cat Must Die! went GREAT! I had a wonderful house, about two-thirds full, who were incredibly responsive right from the get go (I was surprised at how well even the pre-show bits went over!). It was awesome to finally have an audience for this piece and see how well it was received. The classroom was the perfect setting for it, and just the right size, and people seemed to be engaged in the science as well as the comedy. Just writing the Schrödinger's equation on the blackboard produced a laugh.

Anyway, it was a fantastic opening, as good as I ever could have hoped for, and the run continues tonight with back-to-back shows at 7 and 8:30 PM.

Fringe: Day 3, woohoo!